Shivajinagar, Pune


Shivajinagar is a suburb of the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India.

History

The area has a very long history with the 8th century Rashtrakuta era cave temple of Pataleshwar being the oldest man made structure in Pune.
Shivajinagar was earlier known as Bhambwade. Later it came to known as Bhamburde.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj came to the temple of Rokdoba in the village and rested in Shirole Wada of Shirole family. During the Peshwa era, a factory making handcrafted paper operated from Bhamburde.
During the Maratha Empire era, the Patil of the village were Shiledar Shirole family who also were Shiledar in the Maratha army, Shirole family is now a very well known Political family.
In the 19th century, Jangali Maharaj, a saint revered mostly by Hindus, established his residence here. His memorial temple is located in the area and the major road in Shivajinagar is named after him.
In 1884/1885, the Inamdar of Bhamburde, Shrimant Rajaram Naroji Shirole Patil leased 37 acres of land at the foot of Hanuman hill for 99 years to the Deccan Education Society. The society's most well known institution, Fergusson College was built on this land.
After independence, the name of Bhamburde was changed to Shivajinagar.
In early part of the 20th century, one of the oldest slums in Pune called Wadarwadi, initially occupied mostly by the nomadic Wadar community came into being on unused land of the Shirole, Bahirat families close to the Chaturshrungi Temple.
In 1928, a statue of Shivaji was inaugurated on the grounds donated by the Shirole family. The Shri Shivaji military preparatory school was later built in the surrounding area.

Geography

Shivajinagar is situated on the West bank of the Mutha river with the older parts of Pune on the east side of the river. The area is surrounded on its Western side by the Vetal and Hanuman Hills. The village deity is the temple of Rokdoba in Shivajinagar Gaothan. The Gaothan also has a temple of God Shri Ram.

Transport

The Mumbai – Pune old national highway begins from Shivajinagar which links Pune to Mumbai.
MSRTC lt operates a bus station that connects Pune to almost all cities in Maharashtra as well in neighboring states. Shivajinagar is well connected to other parts of the city by local PMPML buses.
Shivajinagar has Shivajinagar railway station. Pune to Lonavla suburban trains and few long-distance trains make a stop here at Shivajinagar and Pune railway stations.

Institutions

The area is home to many central, state and local government offices.
These include
The area has a number of renowned educational institutions with a long history such as Fergusson college,Modern College of Arts, Commerce and Science Shivajinagar,College of engineering and agricultural college.

Universities and Colleges

Shivajinagar has many places dedicated to culture, sports, and recreation. These include: